MARCH 20, 2012
RONDA'S CORNER

MC900444712[1].jpgI would say "Think Spring", but I don't want it to get colder. What beautiful temps we've been having. I've had my motorcycle out and went rollerblading - in March!!
This week I'm going to showcase one of the titles bought with last year's CCD funds.
The Castle in the Attic
by Elizabeth Winthrop.
William has just received the best present of his life. It's an old, real-looking stone and wooden model of a castle, with a drawbridge, a moat, and a finger-high knight to guard the gates. It's the mysterious castle his housekeeper has told him about, and even though William is sad she's leaving, now the castle is his!
William can't wait to play with the castle - he's certain there's something magical about it. Sure enough, when he picks up the tiny silver knight, it comes alive in his hand!
Sir Simon tells William a mighty story of wild sorcery, wizards, and magic. Suddenly William is off on a fantastic quest to another land and another time - where a fiery dragon and an evil wizard are waiting to do battle.

IL: 3-6 / RL: 5 / AR: 4.9 / Lexile 750.

We have 25 copies of this title and it is available in any quantity from 1 to 25. Great for small group reading or entire class.
MARY ANN'S MEANDERINGS
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INFORMATIONAL TEXT
There are several chapters in here on the teaching specifically of informational text:http://www.corilearning.com/research-publications/2012_adolescents_engagement_ebook.pdf
Text Complexity
http://www.education.ky.gov/kde/instructional+resources/literacy/text+complexity+resources.htm

Cynthia M. Van Ness, MLSDirector of Library & Archives Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society is using Delicious to collect full-text War of 1812 works that somehow pertain to the Buffalo-Niagara region. Thanks to Google Books, Hathi Trust, Archive.org, and other sources. All 57 titles can be seen here:http://delicious.com/bechs/War-of-1812


Here's an article that Gary D. Price, MLIS Information Industry AnalystCo-Founder and Editor, INFOdocket.com and FullTextReports.comLibrarian wrote for Search Engine Land.http://searchengineland.com/four-seriously-cool-information-resources-114128Introductions to:
+ C-SPAN Video LibrarySearchable video of EVERY program that has ever aired on all C-SPAN networks.Access is free.
+ Old Maps Online As mentioned on the list a couple of times.Access is free
+ Archive-ItSearchable, topic focused, archives of web content.Access is free
+ Road 2.0: Resource of Outdoor Advertising Descriptions (Billboards!)More than 30,000 digitized images; with search/browse capability Access is free